The present disclosure relates generally to fountain pens. In particular, fountain pens that are capable of using a variety of different unconventional fluids for inks, such as wine, juice, soy sauce, etc., are described.
Fountain pens, developed from historical writing instruments such as the dip pen and quill, is comprised of an ink reservoir which feeds a nib, with both components retained in a housing that facilitates use of the pen. These basic components and the essential design of a fountain pen have been known for centuries. Despite the widespread adoption of more modern writing implements such as ball-point pens, fountain pens continue to enjoy a widespread usage by enthusiasts who employ them for artistic purposes, nostalgia, or to provide a more formal flourish in communications. The nib of a typical modern fountain pen is made of metal, which tapers to a pointed tip, and is split from the tip down a portion of its length. The split forms a channel that conveys ink from the pen's reservoir to the tip, to enable writing. Due to the split in the nib, writing with a typical fountain pen results in strokes of varying sizes depending upon the pressure used in writing. The greater the pressure used, the more the split opens at the tip, resulting in an increasingly broad stroke. This split also results in a fountain pen having a somewhat flattened contact point with the writing surface, which causes the pen's writing performance to vary depending upon the angle with which the writer holds the pen.
Dip pens, a predecessor to the fountain pen as mentioned above, can be purchased with nibs that are constructed using glass or a similarly hard material, shaped to a conical point. Instead of a split for conveying ink, multiple channels are cut into the surface of the nib, which act as small reservoirs. The pen is used by periodically dipping the nib into an ink well, which replenishes the ink held in the nib channels. These channels are often cut in a spiral fashion to increase the amount of ink the pen can retain between dips. The use of such a conical nib enables more consistent stroke widths, as the width of the nib in contact with the writing surface does not vary according to writing pressure. Furthermore, writing with a glass nib is slightly easier for left handed writers as compared to a fountain pen, as the nib comes to a slightly rounded conical point and is less sensitive to the angle at which the writer holds the pen.
Known fountain pens are not entirely satisfactory for the range of applications in which they are employed. For example, the performance of existing pens is highly dependent upon the viscosity and type of ink used. The small channels and passageways present on metal nib fountain pens can become clogged if unsuitable fluids are used for ink, resulting in diminished writing performance. Similarly, ink with too high a viscosity may not flow easily. With their simplistic design, dip pens are more immune to clogging, but lack the reservoir of a fountain pen that enables relatively continuous writing. Furthermore, currently available glass nib dib pens usually have a nib that is integral to the body of the pen. Should the nib break, the pen is essentially rendered useless and must be discarded.
Thus, there exists a need for improved fountain pens that improve upon and advance the design of known fountain and dip pens. Examples of new and useful fountain pens relevant to the needs existing in the field are discussed below.
Disclosure addressing one or more of the identified existing needs is provided in the detailed description below. Examples of references relevant to fountain pens include U.S. Pat. No. 1,205,004, and Chinese Patent CN 202491558 U. The complete disclosures of the above patents and patent applications are herein incorporated by reference for all purposes.